A MAN who came to Cumbria for his retirement has seen a part-time interest develop into an international business with customers in 22 countries.

David Arrowsmith expected his Temperature Indicators supply firm to be little more than a hobby to give him and his wife Lynne something to do in between the time spent enjoying their new surroundings in Grange-over-Sands.

But the firm - run from a small building behind the town's main street - has become so successful he has had to put such plans on hold.

"Retirement? Forget it!" he says.

"I am busier than I have ever been."

David's core business is exporting temperature indicators - tags and labels which, because they change colour when heated, are an essential way of checking that processed food has been cooked properly before being put into cans, jars

and ready-cooked meals.

But his customers have such faith in him that they have started using him to supply them with all kinds of other equipment as well.

And now he finds himself dealing in such things as spare parts for conveyor belts, generators, weighing machines, boat engines and steering gear for trawlers.

David has been helped to develop his export business by Business Link for Cumbria's International Trade Team, for whom he has the highest praise.

"They have been fantastic," he says.

"The help we have had is unbelievable for the price."

Business Link also helped him set up his own website - designed by Cyphergraphics of Milnthorpe - which has brought him to the attention of yet more potential customers.

"We are getting inquiries from all over the world," he says.

"We could be working 25 hours a day.

"Even food processing factories in Third World countries have to reach European standards if they are to sell into our supermarkets, so there is a worldwide demand for equipment that helps them do it."

David's customers range from small tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean to such household names as Heinz, Unilever, Campbells and Nestle.

Between them, they get through four million of his heat sensitive tags every year - each one is enough to ensure the correct cooking of 1,000 cans of processed food.

" We are quite proud of what we have achieved," David says.

"But I am not motivated by money, I am motivated by success and by giving our customers a good service."

Peter Gawne-Cain, Business Link for Cumbria's International Trade Manager, says David's example is one that should be followed by other local firms.

"David has maximised on the value of

exports for his company, and of course for the country as a whole," he says.

"He has proved that the opportunities are there and he has taken them."